1. Field of the Invention
In general, the present invention relates to spatulas, brushes and other scrubbing utensils that are used to clean dishes, pots and pans. More particularly, the present invention relates to devices that are used to clean non-stick cooking surfaces that are coated with a fluoropolymer, such as Teflon®.
2. Prior Art Description
Many pots, pans, griddles and other cooking implements are coated with a non-stick material. Typically, the non-stick material is a fluoropolymer, such as polytetrafluoroethylene, which is known commercially as Teflon®.
Coating a cooking surface with a fluoropolymer makes the cooking surface very smooth. Accordingly, food does not stick to the surface and the cooking surface becomes very easy to clean. The one disadvantage of having a fluoropolymer cooking surface is that the fluoropolymer is essentially a thermoset plastic that is much softer than metal. Consequently, if the cooking surface is contacted by a metal utensil or part of another metal pot, scratches can easily occur in the fluoropolymer coating.
As the number of scratches increase in the fluoropolymer, the surface becomes less slick and more food begins to adhere to the surface during cooking. As a consequence, the cooking surface must be scrubbed a little harder when it is cleaned. This often results in more scratches in the fluoropolymer material. This scratch cycle continues until the fluoropolymer material is so scratched that the cooking surface must be replaced.
In an attempt to minimize scratching of non-stick surfaces, people often wash such surfaces using only a soft sponge and a non-abrasive cleanser. If food is firmly adhered to the non-stick cooking surface, then people commonly use a wooden spoon or a plastic spatula to scrape the food off the cooking surface. The problem is that wooden spoons and plastic spatulas cannot reach into the curves and corners of many types of pots, pans, waffle irons, and the like. Therefore, people are left with little option but to scrub such surfaces in a traditional manner, therein risking scratch damage to those surfaces.
A need therefore exists for a cleaning utensil that is specifically designed to clean cooking surfaces that are coated with a fluoropolymer, wherein the cooking utensil is softer than the fluoropolymer yet is stiff enough to scrape away residual food. A need also exists for a cleaning utensil that is shaped to remove food from curves and corners of pots and pans without scratching the fluoropolymer coating on those surfaces. These needs are met by the present invention as described and claimed below.